Strand type target having realigning means



Jan- 7, 1969 l w. D. CORNELL ET A1. 3,420,524

STRAND TYPE TARGET HAVING REALIGNING MEANS 'Filed April 7, 1966 Sheet of 4 Jan. 7, 1969 A w. D. CORNELL ET AL 3,420,524

` STRAND TYPE TARGET HAVING REALIGNING MEANS Filed April 7, 1966 Sheet 2 of 4 ONE' Pou/2 M070? I g A ks'mY-O if@ ff@ i l I MICRO PHQNE' Jan. 7, 1969 w. D. CORNELL ET Al. 3,420,524

STRAND TYPE TARGET HAVING REALIGNING MEANS Sheei'l 3 Filed April 7, 1966 Jan. 7, 1969 W, D, CORNELL ET AL 3,420,524

STRAND TYPE TARGET HAVING REALIGNING MEANS Sheet Filed April 7, 1965 United States Patent 3,420,524 STRAND TYPE TARGET HAVING REALIGNING MEANS William D. Cornell, Grand Haven, and Donald F. Uecker,

Spring Lake, Mich., assignors to Brunswick Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 7, 1966, Ser. No. 540,917 U.S. Cl. 273-1051 Int. Cl. A63b 71/00 Claims ABSTRACT 0F THE DISCLOSURE Background of the invention In a number of games such as golf and archery, it is desirable to provide a self-healing type of target when the game is played on a commercial scale. The necessity for such a self-heating penetrable target is based primarily on the economics involved in being able to use a single target for a large number of games without the replacement thereof in between or during games. Self-healing targets have been devised and have `been formed of a plurality of strands placed parallel to each other in a single plane. Generally, such strands have been tensioned at their ends to maintain them in a single plane and are formed of a suitable light-colored material such that projected images may be received thereon or such that the target indicia may be printed directly on the strands.

When such a target is used, a missile such as a golf ball or an arrow may strike one or more of the strands and merely push them to either side of the path of the missile. In other words, when a missile collides with the strands forming the target, the strands will yield to permit the missile to pass therethrough and, due to the tensioning applied to the ends of the strands after the missile has passed through the parted strands, the strands will be restored to their initial position so as to provide a substantially continuous surface for receiving projected target markings, or if the target markings are placed directly on the strands, to form a substantially continuous target facing.

While self-healing targets formed of strands in the manner described above have proved generally successful in terms of the advantages presented thereby and set forth above, it has been found that the repeated passing of a missile between the strands may often result in tangling of the strands such that they cannot be restored to their initial position. Such tangling results in a discontinuous target surface due to the elongated gaps between adjacent strands and occurs when a missile at a relatively high velocity strikes the strands and imparts a rotational movement thereto causing adjacent Strands to wind about each other or when the tensioning force applied to the ends of the strands which tends to restore the strands to their initial position causes vibration of the strands, and the adjacent strands on either side of the point of missile impact with the target overshoot their 7 normal position durrng restoratlon and become tangled with each other.

3,420,524 Patented Jan. 7, 1969 ICC Summary of the invention It is the principal object of the invention to provide a new and improved self-healing target of the strand type that eliminates the discontinuities caused in the target due to the tangling of strands.

More specifically, it is an object of the invention to provide a new and improved self-healing target formed of a plurality of strands including means for untangling the strands so as to present a substantially continuous target to the person propelling a missile towards the target.

Another object of thee invention is the provision of such a target formed of a plurality of strands including means for separating alternate strands of the target to thereby untangle the strands.

Still another object is the provision of such a target formed of a plurality of strands including means for normally maintaining each of the strands in substantially a Asingle plane together with means for periodically moving at least alternate ones of the strands out of the plane so as to cause the untangling of the strands.

A still further object is the provision of a target such as that described in the preceding paragraph wherein both ends of alternate strands are moved out of the plane so as to cause untangling of the strands.

Yet another object is the provision of such a target including means mounting both ends of alternate ones orf the strands in two separate but parallel planes together' with means engaging the strands so as to normally maintain all of the strands in a side-by-side relationship within a single plane to form a substantially continuous surface adapted to receive indicia, and wherein the means mount-- ing the alternate strands in separate but parallel planes are movably mounted and means are provided for periodically moving the mounting means and the strands mounted thereon away from the means normally engaging the strands such that alternate ones of the strands `will be separated into respective positions in the two separate planes to cause untangling of the strands.

Other objects and advantages of thee invention will become apparent from the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Description of the drawings FIG. l is a side elevation of the tee area of a golf game utilizing a self-healing target of the strand type made according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a substantially horizontal section taken approximately along the line 22 of FIG. 1 and illustrating the strand mounting and aligning mechanism;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is fa fragmentary enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a substantially vertical section taken approximately along the line 5 5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary front elevation showing the manner in which the strands used in the target are mounted and a portion of the realigning mechanism; and

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a control system that may be used for controlling the operation of the realigning mechanism.

Description of the preferred embodiment In the exemplary embodiment of the invention to be described in detail hereinafter, the self-healing, penetrable target is formed of a plunality of elongated strands that are mounted in a parallel, side-by-side relationship. The strands are mounted at each end on a frame with tension 0 means interposed between the ends of the strands and engage each of the strands adjacent the opposite ends thereof to provide thee effect of maintaining the strands in a continuous surface having a predetermined configuration such as a plane. Interposed between the frame and each of the stationary posts is a movable guide means through which the strands pass. Each guide means includes a plurality of strand receiving passages which are arranged in a spaced, staggered lformation such that alternate ones of the passages are spaced from each other in a direction generally transverse to the length of the strands. The guide means are movably mounted and are normally maintained in a position such that the strands emerging therefrom are maintained in contact with the elongated posts to provide the indicia receiving continuous target surface. Periodically, the guide means are moved forwardly of the elongated posts to move the strands out of contact with the latter. Since the strand receiving passages in each guide mans are separated from each other in a direction transverse to the length of the strands, alternate ones of the strands will be separated from their adjacent strands a distance equal to the distance between alternate ones of the strand passages. As a result of such separation and the tension applied to the strands by the tensioning means, strands that have become tangled with adjacent strands will be separated therefrom to cause untangling thereof. The guide means are then automatically moved rearwardly to cause the strands to engage the elongated posts and once again present the substantially continuous surface.

Turning now to FIG. l, an exemplary form of a selfhealing penetrable screen made according to the invention in the environment of one use may be seen. Specifically, the use shown as exemplary involves a tee area of an indoor golf game including a tee, generally designated 10, from which a golf ball 12 may be hit by a golfer towards a target 14 made according to the invention. `On the side of the target 14 opposite from the tee 10, there is placed an ellipsiodal shell 16 for receiving golf balls 12 directed from the tee through the target 14. A spin detector 18 is also placed behind the target 14 for receiving golf balls 12 dellected from the shell 16 and for determining the spin thereon. The specific construction of the shell 16 and the spin detector 18 is disclosed in the copending application of W. D. Cornell, Ser. No. 470,363, tiled July 8, 1965, and assigned to the `same assignee as th@ instant invention.

Above the tee 10 fand slightly to the rear thereof, a projection booth generally designated 20 is suspended from the ceiling 22 of the structure housing the tee area. The projection booth 20 includes a projector, generally designated 24, which may be remotely controlled for projecting any one of a plurality of scenes representing scenes on a golf course onto the target 14.

The target Y14 includes a base 26 mounting a cross member 28. As will be seen, the base 26 and cross member 28 form part of a generally rectangular frame for supporting the target. In this respect, an upper cross member 30 forms the upper portion of the frame. As will be seen, a plurality of generally vertical members provide the sides of the rectangular frame.

The lower cross member 28 additionally mounts a one revolution motor 32 near the center thereof (see FIG. 2) which serves as an actuator for the strand aligning mechanism.

A plurality of strands 34 are provided to form a penetrable screen for receipt of projected indicia from the projector 2"4.` By means to be described hereinafter, the strands 34, which are disposed horizontally, are mounted in a side-by-side relationship and have their opposite ends secured to generally vertical frame members 36 (FIG. 2) which complete a rectangular supporting frame. Mounting members 38 extend rearwardly lfrom the cross members 28 and 30 (only the mounting members 38 associated with the cross member 28 are illustrated) and, near their ends, rotatably mount substantially vertical, elongated posts 40. Secured to the posts 40 for rotation therewith, and near the upper and lower extremities thereof, are L-shaped alignment arms 42 which, in turn, mount at an end 43 thereof guide means 44 that engage the strands 34 to cause separation thereof fas will be seen.

The rotatable posts 40 additionally have secured there to, near their lower ends, actuator arms 46 which are connected through links 48 to a cam mechanism, generally designated 50, which is operated by the one revolution motor 32. The cam mechanism 50 is arranged to cause reciprocation of the links 48, which in turn causes the actuator arms 46 to rotate the posts 40 and thus the L-shaped aligning arms 42 and the associated strand guide means 44.

Adjacent the ends of the strands 34 and in close proximity to the point of engagement of the guide means 44 with the strands 34, there are placed elongated, stationary posts 52 which extend between the lower cross member 28 and the upper cross member 30. The posts 52 each include a strand engaging surface 53 which normally engages the strands 34 as they emerge from the guide mechanism 44 to maintain the str-ands 34 in a single plane so as to provide a substantially continuous surface for the receipt lof indicia.

As may be seen in FIG. 3, the guide means 44 include first strand engaging surfaces 54 and second strand engaging surfaces 56. The strand engaging surfaces 54 and 56 are separated from each other in a direction generally transverse to the length of the strands 34 and are alternately arranged such that alternate ones of the strands 34 will engage the surfaces 54 while the remaining strands 34 will engage the surfaces 56. The arrangement is such that when the strands 34 are positioned only under the influence of the guide means 44, alternate ones of the strands 34 will be disposed in separate, parallel planes. Thus, when the L-shaped aligning arms 42 are moved to the position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 3, alternate ones of the strands 34 will be separated to cause untangling thereof.

The details of construction of the guide means 44 are best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5. Each guide means 44 is comprised of a pair of elongated, C-shaped channels 58 and 60 which are arranged to face each other and have their ends supported by and secured to the L-shaped aligning arms 42. An elongated rod 62 is disposed between the channels 58 and 60. A plurality of spacing pieces 64 are supported by the rod 62 and the channels 58 and 60. One end 66 of each spacing piece 64 is shaped so as to snugly fit within the C-shaped channels 58 or 60 while the other end includes a rounded point 68 and a pair of rounded corners 70 which define either the surface 54 or the surface 56 depending upon the orientation of the spacing piece 64 with respect to the channels 58 or 60. Additionally, lan aperture 72 is provided in the spacing pieces 64 adjacent the points 68 for receiving the rod 62. Projecting from the upper side of each spacing piece 64 near the end 66 is a circular lug 74.

Each spacing piece 64 has a thickness equal to the width of a strand 34 and the circular lug 74 projects up wardly from the upper surface of the spacing piece 64 a distance equal to the width of a strand 34. The spacing pieces 64 are stacked within the channels 58 or 60 and about the rod 62 in an alternate manner so as to form the structure illustrated in section in FIG. 5. That is to say, a rst spacing piece 64 may have its end 66 disposed within the channel 58 while the next spacing piece 64 will have its end 66 disposed within the channel 60, etc. As a result, it will be seen that a plurality of strand passages 76 are formed in the :resulting composite structure and that alternate ones of the passages 76 will be staggered to provide the two separate regions of strand engaging surfaces 54 and 56. The strands 34 are received in corresponding ones of the passages 76 to provide the separating effect noted above when the influence of the posts 52 on the alignment of the strands 34 is removed by rotation of the L-shaped aligning arms 42.

FIG. 3 additionally illustrates the details of the cam mechanism 50. The one revolution motor 32 preferably corn-prises a motor having a reduction gear train with an output shaft 78 and is arranged in a conventional manner such that the motor 32 will stop after one revolution of the output shaft 78 of the gear train. The shaft 78 mounts a pair of eccentric discs 80 and 82. The disc 80 is rotatable within a follower ring 84 while the disc 82 is rotatable with a follower ring 86. The follower rings 84 and 86 are secured to respective ones of the links 48 to cause reciprocation thereof. Thus, it will be apparent that when the one revolution motor is energized to cause rotation of the output shaft 78, the discs 80 and 82 will be revolved to cause a generally reciprocating movement of their respective follower rings 84 and 86 which, in turn, will reciprocate the links 48. The arrangement of the discs 80 and 82 is with respect to each lother and to the shaft 78 is such that reciprocating movement of the links 48 will be generally symmetrical about the shaft 78.

The links 48 include, at their extreme ends, conventional length adjusting means 88 together with a yoke 90 which is pivotally secured at 92 to the corresponding actuator arm 46.

The manner in which the strands 34 are tensioned and secured to the frame members 36 is best seen in FIGS. 3 and 6. Since the securing structure at either end of the frame is identical, only the securing means at one end will be described. The ends of each of the strands 34 include a loop 94 which receives a triangular ring 96. Hight quality rubber bands 98 are looped through respective ones of the rings 96 at one end of their length and looped through elongated rings 100 at the other end thereof. Of course, it will be appreciated that tension springs could be used in Iplace of the rubber bands 98.

The elongated rings 100 are, in turn, secured by attachment to adjacent convolutions of a coil spring which is secured to the frame member 36 by means of a clamp 104. As may be best seen in FIG. 6, a plurality of the strands 34 are disposed in close adjacency so as to form a substantially continuous surface for the receipt 0f target indicia when in the position illustrated and that the rubber bands 98 serve to provide a tensioning force on the strands 34 so as to tend to maintain them in the horizontal disposition illustarted.

Turning now to FIG. 7, there is seen -a schematic illustration of a control circuit for controlling the one revolution mot-or 32. A microphone 106 or a similar triggering device known in the art may be disposed to pick up the sound of a club head meeting a golf ball in the case of golf or the sound of an arrow hitting a back stop behind the target 14 in the case of archery. The signal `generated thereby may be fed to a conventional amplifier 108 which may be of a pulse-forming type, and from the amplifier 108 to the actuator coil 110 of a stepping switch. Each output pulse lof the amplifier 108 will pulse the coil 110 of the stepping switch such that the wiper 112 thereof will be advanced one contact. The stepping switch may include a plurality of contacts 114, one of which is connected to a relay 116 having normally open contacts in series with the one revolution motor 32 across a source of power. The wiper 112 of the stepping switch is also connected to the relay 116 so as to form an energizing circuit for the relay 116.

The operation of the device is as follows. Let us assume the position of the Wiper 112 is that shown in FIG. 7. Accordingly, each time a golf ball is hit from the tee area 10, the wiper 112 will be advanced one contact in the direction shown and after eight golf shots, it will be apparent that the wiper 112 will complete a circuit to energize the relay 116. Energization of the relay will energize the one revolution motor 32 to cause the shaft 78 to rotate through but a single revolution thereby causing a single complete reciprocation of the links 48. By means of the actuator arms 46 and the rotatablepost 40, reciprocating movement of the links 48 will cause the aligning arms 42 to be pivoted to the position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 3 thereby moving the strands 34 out of contact with the posts 52. At this time the portions of the strand 34 forming the penetrable screen will be positioned solely under the influence of the spacer pieces 64 and the rubber bands 98 and accordingly, alternate ones of the strands 34 will be disposed in different planes due to the tension applied to the strands 34 by the rubber bands 98. The separation of alternate ones of the strands 34 by the rubber bands 98 and the spacer pieces 64, together with the fact that the influence of the posts 52 is removed, causes the strands to become untangled at this stage of the operation. The above described action takes place approximately during the tirst half revolution of the shaft 78. During the second half revolution of the shaft 78, movement of the links 48 is in a direction back towards the initial position thereof as shown in FIG. 2 and as a result, the aligning arms 42 will be pivoted back towards their initial position as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. When the shaft 78 has completed a full revolution, the one revolution motor 32 will be automatically shut off. It will be apparent that at this time, the aligning arms 42 are fully retracted and that the now untangled strands 34 are engaged with posts 52 to once again provide a substantially continuous surface for the receipt of indicia.

While the foregoing description of the exemplary embodiment illustrates a mechanism for causing realignment of the strands 34 after a number of missiles have passed through the target 14, it will be appreciated that realignment of the strands 34 could be made to occur after the passing of each missile by simply utilizing the output of the amplifier 108 to directly operate the relay 116. Furthermore, it will be obvious that a manually actuable switch could be used for energizing the one revolution motor 32 in the event automatic operation is not desired. Where the target is used in conjunction with a game wherein it is desirable to determine the velocity of the missile or the point of impact thereof on a target, it will be apparent that a part of the necessary data acquisition system could be used in place of the microphone 106.

It will also be appreciated that three or more distinct regions of surface areas for engaging the strands 34 could be provided in the guide means 44 and will -provide satisfactory results. Finally, it will be apparent that the realigning mechanism is not limited to a planar type of target but could be used with a curved target wherein the curvature thereof would be determined fby curving the posts 52 and providing a corresponding curvature in the guide means 44.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the invention provides a new and improved self-healing target of the strand type which eliminates the distractions in the form of discontinuities in the target facing caused by the tangling of adjacent strands. It will also be appreciated that the invention lends itself to automatic control of the untangling operation and that the invention may be used in any instance where a missile is directed towards a target. j

Having described the specific embodiment of our invention as required by 35 U.S.C. 112, we do not wish to be limited to the specific construction set forth, but rather to have our invention construed to the true spirit thereof as set forth in the following claims.

We claim:

1. A penetrable screen adapted to receive indicia for use as a target in a game wherein a missile is propelled at a target comprising: a plurality of elongated strands; means supporting each of said plurality of elongated strands in a substantially parallel relation with the others of said plurality of strands; means normally operable to maintain said plurality of strands in substantially a single plane; and means operable to cause alternate ones of said plurality of strands to be moved out of said plane whereby adjacent strands that have become tangled as a missile passed therethrough are untangled, so as to provide a substantially continuous indicia presenting surface.

2. The realignable, penetrable screen of claim 1 wherein said last named means comprises motor means for moving said alternate ones of said strands out of said plane; means for counting the number of missiles passing between said strands; and means responsive to said counting means for energizing said motor means after a predetermined number of missiles have passed between said strands.

3. The realignable, penetrable screen of claim 1 wherein said maintaining means -comprise an elongated first member disposed adjacent at least one end of each of said plurality of strands and having a surface located in said plane such that said surface is in abutment with each of said plurality of strands near said ends thereof; and said operable means comprises a second member including at least two regions of surfaces, one of said regions being displaced from the other of said regions in a direction transverse to said plane, alternate ones of said strands being disposed to engage alternate ones of said regions of surfaces; means mounting said first and second member for movement relative to each other such that relative movement therebetween will cause said first member to no longer engage said strands whereby alternate ones of said plurality of strands will be separated.

4. The realignable, penetrable screen of claim 3 wherein said first member is stationarily mounted; at least one pivotally mounted arm mounting said second member, means including motor means operatively connected to said arm for normally maintaining said second member on one side of said plane and for selectively moving said second member through said plane.

5. In la self-healing target of the strand type, the combination of:

(a) a plurality of elongated strands disposed in a sideby-side position to form a substantially continuous surface adapted to receive target markings thereon;

(b) yieldable means mounting said plurality of strands in said position whereby :a missile striking said tar- -get will cause said strands to separate to permit said missile to pass between said strands, said yieldable means tending to thereafter restore said strands to said position; and

(c) means for displacing some of said plurality of strands from others of said strands to cause such ones of the strands that have become tangled with each other due to the passing of said missile therebetween to be untangled such that said yieldable means may restore said strands to said lside-by-si-de position whereby discontinuities in said surface due to tangled strands are eliminated.

6. The target of claim 5 wherein said strands are additionally disposed in a parallel relationship with each other in substantially a single plane; said yieldable means com prise means secured to said strands for applying tension thereto; `and said displacing means comprise means for disposing certain of said strands in one plane and others of said strands in a second plane.

7. In a self-healing target of the strand type, the combination of:

(a) a plurality of elongated strands disposed in a sideby-side position to form a substantially continuous surface adapted to receive target markings thereon;

(b) yieldable means mounting said plurality of strands in said position whereby a missile striking said target will cause said strands to separate to permit said missile to pass between said strands, said yieldable means tending to thereafter restore said strands to said position;

(c) means for moving at least some of said plurality of ystrands to cause such ones of strands that have become tangled with each other due `to the passing of said missile therebetween to be untangled such that said yieldable means may restore said -strands to said side-by-side position whereby discontinuities in said surface due to tangled strands are eliminated; and

(d) motor means for operating said moving means whereby said strands will be automatically untangled and realigned.

8. The target of claim 7 further including means for sensing the propelling of a missile towards said target, said motor means being operable in response to said sensing means.

9. A realignable target comprising, in combination:

(a) a plurality of yieldable elongated strands each supported at both ends thereof and disposed in a sideby-side relationship to present a substantially continuous surface for receiving target markings and for permitting a missile to pass therethrough, and

(b) means for temporarily separating adjacent ones of `said strands and for realigning said strands to preclude tangling thereof from disrupting said substantially continuous surface presented thereby.

10. The invention of claim 9 further including means for automatically operating said separating and realigning means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,072,410 1/1963 Simjian 273-181 ANTON O. yOECHSLE, Primary Examiner.

M. R. PAGE, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 

